What Happens on the Road Trip
by Mage-Alia
Summary: Plenty of things happened on the road trip. Accidents, incidents and chaos. Here's where I'll make a record of some of them.
1. Lunafreya - Something Different

Disclaimer: The Characters in this fanfiction and the worlds in which they exist don't belong to me, I'm just having fun playing in their sandbox. :P

* * *

A Harry Potter / KHR / WET / American Gods / Assassin's creed / FF15 / Venture Bros. / Dead Like Me Multi-Crossover

* * *

What Happens on the Road Trip...

by Mage-Alia

Lunafreya: Somewhere new.

* * *

Plenty of things happened on the road trip. Accidents, incidents and chaos.

* * *

A/N: So I don't know where the hell I was going or even if I was going to continue Death's Mafia, but my brain was having fun figuring out how they got there. Here's some backstory on Luna since she got the least amount of time in the story before I ended it. I guess I'm going to post stories about what happened on the Road trip as they pop into my brain. (The Grand Canyon incident has been percolating for a while now and it kind of wants to be written as well... XD)

This has been crossposted to my Ao3 account under the name of Auraion, so don't be surprised if it looks familiar.

* * *

When everything ended, Luna had known she wasn't going back to her world.

The gods had their reasons of course, and as she sat beside Noctis and his throne, clad in her wedding dress, she knew that she wouldn't be there long. His story was ending with peaceful sleep, but her's...

The world was Dark, then it was light.

Someone was screaming.

It took almost an eternity to realize it was herself.

Hands as large as her body passed her along a line and into the arms of a woman who looked down at her with all the love and wonder in the world.

Lunafreya had been reborn.

* * *

Her start to life was a charmed one. She was born into a wealthy family, her parents loved her and she wanted for nothing. It felt like living in the palace in Tenebrae all over again, except with much less responsibility and a greater emphasis on life. The world outside her new castle was full of people, the population outstripping even the Empire's in it's day. In her old world the population had been on a decline, even with people flocking to the cities they'd been dwindling in response to the secret crisis brewing in the background, but here, life flourished. She gloried in the feeling of not being alone.

It wasn't until she began to attend school that she learned that not all was right in her second world.

Children of other wealthy families all responded differently. She knew her family had been well off, but the way some either followed, reviled or feared her was unnerving and strange. She'd gone along with it for a while, keeping her silence, being polite, using every scrap of diplomatic experience she had to keep the various warring factions of the school yard from erupting into chaos, before someone finally gave her a hint. A revelation of the true nature of the family she'd been reborn into.

She was the Heir of a Mafia Family.

In the city of New York her family was the second most powerful crime syndicate around. And didn't that leave a bitter taste in her mouth.

Still, she loved her mother and father, she was loved by the people around her and she was in good standing if not outright liked by the children she interacted with in school. So she kept her silence. She wasn't idle though. Driven by her particular form of foresight she made friends and contacts, if it ever went the way she knew it would she'd need to know things. Cultivating connections with people who would likely stay in the mafia for life would only work to her benefit.

It was a sad realization that she'd even need them when her father seemed to take a maddening turn toward insanity. She watched as he became more and more ambitious and eventually started talking about taking over the city and ruling it from the shadows. His actions became more and more erratic and Luna tried to hold as much of her life together as she could.

But then one day her father went a step too far.

He murdered her mother.

Luna left that day. He'd come to her after, ranting about how she'd been groomed as his heir, now she would be a princess in his kingdom and nothing was left to stop him from taking over everything...

That had been enough.

Luna had disowned herself. In an obvious dramatic fashion she'd used the resources at her disposal and fled. It was noticed too. Everyone who had been watching her father saw when she disavowed anything to do with him and his family and walked out the door. She'd spent a lot of time, just hiding from the fallout before she finally re emerged a number of states away and had to reassess her life.

She was Eighteen.

* * *

She hadn't brought much with her. Only a suitcase and enough money to get herself set up but that was it. Finding an apartment, she started working to put herself through University. She began a nursing degree and spent her time studying. About a year in she found a puppy that reminded her so much of Pryna that she took it home and hadn't felt lonely since. Finishing her schooling she found work at a hospital and began to sink into the life of a nurse living from shift to shift, helping people. It was familiar in a way she hadn't realized she'd missed, and with the lack of darkness in this world, she never had to see any of her patients become monsters. She made friends and began to open up once more.

About a year into university she'd gotten notice that her father had finally bitten off more than he could chew. He'd been outed to the police by "concerned parties" and the organized crime families had repelled his attempts to take over, allowing the police to finish him off. She'd been investigated briefly during the process, but her clear distance had ruled her out of any wrong doing and her age at the time of his rise had given her the leniency to slip by the consequences brought to bear on the rest of the Family.

She'd given her statements, made anonymous testimonies and put her childhood behind her.

But it seemed the Mafia wasn't done with her.

They came, quietly. One or two at a time. Gunshot wounds, stab wounds, Burns, diseases and trauma from the strangest and most unexplained circumstances.

They all asked to see Her. They all asked after the one nurse that had the power of a Sun.

Even if she'd been mostly oblivious to the nature of her family as a child, the flames had always been with her. From an early age she'd hid them from her parents. Flickering golden flames that she'd first mistaken as a new manifestation of her star's blessing before she learned they were a part of this new world she was in. The Seven Flames of the Sky while common in the Mafia, were uncommon everywhere else, and as far as the Mafia was concerned, she was distinctly powerful. Her past as Oracle gave it shape, but the Flames were all her own.

But it did mean she had those affiliated with the mafia coming to find her at all hours for healing when they were in the area. She'd tell them off, heal them to get them out of her hair, but they kept coming back. It was maddening. People noticed that she had visitors. They whispered as rumors started and eventually she'd had enough. She quit her job, sold her apartment, collected her dog and prepared to move to the other side of the country when she heard the rumors.

The underworld was abuzz with stories of a Rouge Sky traveling across the country with his guardians. Seen in a black car that no one could follow for long, having adventures that were epic in nature.

It felt so achingly familiar.

Suddenly, she knew what she wanted to do.

Last time she'd missed the fun and chaos of Noctis' road trip to Altissia and beyond. Her own journey had been hard and full of politics and trials. They'd forgotten just how little time it had been while they wondered and Noctis had admitted he'd wanted it to go on forever.

She wanted that. She wanted to do the same. Adventure across the world with people who could be her family and the all encompassing joy of flying in the same sky.

Whistling to Pryna she locked up the apartment and went to hand in the keys.

She'd have to make plans.

* * *

She smoothed down the fabric of her blazer restlessly.

It had been months since she'd first made her decision to pursue the rouge sky, but unlike the others still watching she was well ahead of them. Even if her gods weren't here she still had a little foresight left . She'd anticipated their final destination and gone to wait. Liquidating her funds, finding a new place to stay for a few weeks and getting herself a job to pass the time.

The moment they'd come into range she'd felt them. The Sky's energy spread out ahead of them searching and even as the energy brushed against her own she had to resist the urge to go running to them. They danced around the edge of her perception for most of the day till finally, the Sky walked in and she may well have been bouncing in place.

He was adorable.

Wide green eyes, dark hair not unlike Noctis' usual bed head, a slender but clearly male frame and clothes, that while they were new, looked like they'd been picked to hide behind. (she'd have to change that eventually)

He was clearly dazed by her enthusiasm. The moment their hands touched her sun flooded the surroundings and she gloried in it when the bond was accepted without words. The other guardians were clearly more aware of her than the sky was. They eyed her with critical gazes, accepting as she dressed them up, the Storm that could have been the Skies sister was the most wary of all of them, she resisted being crammed into any kind of dress until the sky turned doe eyes on her and she relented to a slinky black number. Their judgement was silent and unnoticed by the sky, but by the time they were all ready to leave they'd calmed down from the surprise.

She swept them along, dragging them toward a restaurant she'd booked for the evening. She had the money after all. All the while she chattered, pleased to have someone else to talk to. The rain chipped in occasionally, the mist and his partner were indulgent of her behaviour while the Lightning was bemused. The cloud was tugging at his collar like it was the devil trying to choke him and the Storm was a silent but insistent guardian that walked two steps behind. Luna found herself telling the sky... Harry, about the mafia, how she'd left it such a long time ago, but how it had followed her everywhere... until today. When he shook himself out of his daze, once they'd been seated in the restaurant, Luna to his left, He smiled.

He smiled and Luna, along with everyone else in the room felt Happy.

Happy they all finally had a place to belong.

... And then A baby wearing a fedora and a bright Yellow pacifier around its neck walked in an Luna had to try very hard not to let anything show on her face.

She'd known they'd show up sooner or later, she didn't need foresight to know that the Vongola's pet hitman wouldn't be far behind.

* * *

Don't forget to Review!

Cya


	2. Georgia Lass - Rain Guardian

Disclaimer: The Characters in this fanfiction and the worlds in which they exist don't belong to me, I'm just having fun playing in their sandbox. :P

* * *

A Harry Potter / KHR / WET / American Gods / Assassin's creed / FF15 / Venture Bros. / Dead Like Me Multi-Crossover

* * *

What Happens on the Road Trip...

by Mage-Alia

Georgia Lass - Rain Guardian

* * *

Plenty of things happened on the road trip. Accidents, incidents and chaos.

A look into the role that George plays and how she got the moniker of Grim Reaper amongst the Mafia at large.

* * *

George had never been more sure about any other decision she'd made in her unlife.

Following the dark haired specter of Death had been the best thing she'd ever done.

Sure she'd had to give up living in Seattle, but what was left for her there anyway? She had died, she had no real presence in the world. She might have had a job and friends, but being a reaper had been a holding pattern. A waiting game. One day she'd meet her quota and one day she'd pass on, just like the guy before her.

But here with Harry she was Living. For the first time in her Unlife she wasn't just waiting for the next soul to reap. Sure she still had to do her job, but with the others it was fun. Rubi hadn't been all that interested, Laura avoided touching her, Desmond and Harry though were endlessly amused by the events that occurred from her point of view. Like magical train wrecks you just couldn't look away from, they watched as death came for the unwary. Seeing all the signs, learning all the tells. She sidled up to the one on her post it note and a brush of a shoulder, a shake of the hand later and the soul itself was watching as their bodies shuffled off the mortal coil to a soundtrack of laughter.

The young woman would smile, indulging her bosses amusement until she ushered him away from the latest accident, eyes knowing and sharp as she caught the arm of the spirit left behind, often gaping at the ingnominity of their deaths.

All of them had seemed familiar. That burning flicker of light in their bodies, it was a match for the one she carried, that Harry had, that Desmond ignored, Rubi embraced and Shadow hid. These people were the ones after her boss. She didn't have to be Rubi's kind of reaper to know that much.

Death, it seemed, liked it's master. The Lord High Deliverer of Post-it notes always ensured that the assassins or kidnappers or ner-do-wells never made it within arm's length of Harry.

George decided that she agreed with the sentiment.

The young man that lead them aimlessly across the country was the most patient and kind individual she'd ever met and heaven help anyone who decided that he needed to shuffle off the mortal coil himself.

She sighed when she looked at the coffee cup in her hand and realised that her next job had appeared, stuck to the side. It was one of the more common places to find it. Sometimes it'd be on her bedside table, others the handle of the door. One time it was on her face and that had actually been pretty urgent for it to appear there. But most of the time Death didn't seem to mind waiting till she was awake before handing her the next.

Turning the cup she stared at the writing. 1427 0702 Smith Rd. To anyone else it may have been gibberish honestly, but a time, a date and an address were sometimes more than she usually got. A name might have been nice but she was learning that she didn't need them as much anymore. Her connection to death and exposure to Harry had slowly opened her awareness of it.

Palming the post it note she drained the last of her coffee and left the cup on the table as she swung her legs out of the booth and joined the others at the door.

"So. Where are we headed today Boss?" She asked, the words spoken in her usual deadpan.

Green eyes flicked over to her, noting the Post-it note in her hand but saying nothing.

"There's a town fair on at the moment." He announced, waving a newspaper at them. "Anyone feel like going this afternoon?"

Desmond had a phone in one hand, a map open on the screen. He'd taken to keeping himself amused during the long car rides playing games and reading comics as he caught up on the pop culture he hadn't been allowed to appreciate in his childhood.

"Where is it? We gonna stay here the night? Cause I don't feel like sleeping in the car again. We were driving all of yesterday and I have a cramp in my neck cause Rubi was hogging the pillow." Never mind that the pillow had been a sleeping Harry who'd ended up crammed between them until he'd leaned into Rubi and she'd latched to him in her sleep. Desmond had been forced to lean against the door the rest of the way and complained bitterly about it since.

Harry checked the paper. Seemingly oblivious to the byplay as he looked for the address and Rubi jostled Desmond in the background.

"It says here that it's near the Grade school on Smith Road." He grabbed the phone that Desmond had dropped when he'd started to wrestle with Rubi properly. The pair behaving more like irritable siblings as opposed to master/student.

George snorted, both at the bickering duo and the clear sign that her target for the day was going to be someone tailing them once more.

"I'm all for it." She agreed, tone mild after Shadow and Laura begged off, stating that if they were going they may as well stay the night like Desmond wanted.

They volunteered to get rooms at the Town's only motel and the four were left to their own devices as they skipped out, intent on their own agenda. The Reaper rolled her eyes and turned to look at the others. Desmond and Rubi had stopped tussling and now flanked Harry who was watching her with a smile.  
He finally nodded to the post-it note in her hand.

"Anywhere we need to be?" He asked, but George shrugged casually, her face a careful mask of nonchalance.

"Nah. I'm sure we'll bump into them at some point."

His smile grew ever so slightly wider and she felt herself giving him a crooked grin in return.

Rubi and Desmond looked at each other behind Harry's back and shrugged.

Their Sky and Rain were Weird.

* * *

The fair was in full swing when they arrived later in the day. People had apparently come in from all over the area to attend and there were screaming children, frustrated adults and reluctantly pleased teens darting from one side of the field to the other. A Ferris wheel took up the center while other rides and games flanked the sides. Food stands radiated head turning smells and George grinned to herself as she watched Harry looking around in wide eyed awe. He bounced in place beside Desmond until Rubi rolled her eyes and nodded. Like he even needed to wait for her permission anyway! He grabbed the cloud and ran for the nearest ride, a low roller coaster that was pretty fast for such a carnival basic model.

 **1400**

As her Boss became more and more distracted George sat back, finding a bench next to a van serving gigantic plates of curly fries and opened herself up to the possibilities. Children at a game on the other side of the alley threw darts with reckless abandon at a cork board filled with balloons. It had seen better days. In some places there were so many holes that the material had become weak. Unsurprising obviously, since the attendant was a bored teenager who didn't seem to care. On the other side there were clowns filling up balloons with helium. Brightly colored plumes of rubber peeked over the dart throwing stand where they'd been tied for the best effect. Down the corridor, a couple were having an argument that looked like it was about to turn into a make out session going by the tension and there... in the back, standing awkwardly next to a rank of open mouthed clown mannequins was her mark. She was sure of it.

There was nothing to make him appear out of place. He was clean shaven, neatly dressed and fit the mostly white demographic of the town. He was young and on the right side of handsome... but she could feel the flicker of light. An impression of flame against her senses. She couldn't tell which. Not at this range, but there wasn't anyone else around him with one strong enough that wasn't her friends.

Yeah... friends... that felt nice to say.

So when he moved, so did she. He didn't take his eyes off Harry, watching as the two adrenaline junkie teenagers dragged Rubi into the fun on the next ride as they all got on a tall contraption that swung a bunch of seats out over the crowd. Harry cheered. It definitely wasn't screaming, that was for sure.

 **1415**

They'd gone through their ordeal once before Rubi smelt doughnuts and proceeded to commandeer their trouble train early, leaving the stand with a box of the pastries in her arms. She sat out on the next ride, yet another stomach lurching spinning thing that spun you so hard you'd stick to the walls like gravity had been reversed.

 **1423**

The man was moving in closer as the boys tumbled off the ride and immediately got back on again. A young girl behind them didn't. Instead she tottered over toward a trashcan but didn't make it. She vomited all over the path, much to the dismay of her parents who were arguing over what to do next. As the crowd bowed around the puddle so too did the man. He bumped into her as he passed and she just muttered sorry. She wasn't, of course. George felt the hardness of a gun where she'd brushed up against him and the tingle of her power going to work. The man just grumbled at her, giving her a dirty look as he turned around and walked straight into the back end of a horse.

Startled by the sudden view he stumbled back, pin wheeling as he went too far and his foot caught the puddle of vomit, his feet went out from under him and he went ass over tea kettle, falling backwards and hitting the pavement with a sickening crack. The sick little girl hadn't even noticed, quickly shuffled away by equally oblivious parents. He was concussed, but clearly not dead yet as bystanders went to help him to his feet. He'd almost made it too when there was a creak from the chair swing ride above.

A particularly fat man had been in a seat behind Desmond on their turn. He'd crammed himself into the seat and had barely passed the weight requirements to ride. He'd been determined though, but it had lead to the bolts weakening. Without someone in the chair on the next turn it had shaken loose and holding on by a thread that soon gave way as the ride reached its maximum speed...

 ***Rattle*Woooooooosh*Splat***

The chair untangled itself from the chains, finally breaking loose and flying in a glorious arc directly for their stalkers head. It smashed into him, finishing the job as the corner of the seat made a crater in his forehead.

To add insult to injury he fell over backwards once more, landing right back in the puddle of vomit.

The rain guardian, standing in the shadow of a hotdog van down the way chuckled to herself. Beside her the man looked on mortified at his demise.

 _{"You have got to be shitting me!"}_ He shouted before whirling on her. _{"What did you do?! How did you know?!"}_

Still sniggering she just shook her head.

"You had to know that he wasn't on his own yeah?" She finally met his eyes. "I mean, you all try to avoid Rubi so you know she's his bodyguard."

 _{"But I did avoid her, we had a clear shot lined up for the Ferris wheel and everything!"}_ George nodded. Harry would have insisted on the Ferris Wheel. For all his worldly responsibility he was still a kid. He hadn't got to be one when he was a child so this trip had been full of moments where he'd tried to catch up, not unlike Desmond.

"I guess you're just really unlucky then." She smiled, more than aware of how infuriating she could be to the newly dead.

He just growled at her and went to take a step in her direction, only for a glimmer of light down one of the side alleys to grab his attention. George stuck her hands in her pockets and nodded toward it.

"Well. Whatever. It was still your time." She explained as he took a step toward the portal to the afterlife. "I was just here to make sure you made it over in one piece... well... mostly" She spared the window into the otherworld a look and whistled.

"Wow, looks like you weren't that much of a dick after all if that's what your other side looks like. It's almost a good thing that you didn't get to kill him isn't it. You might not have seen it like this if you did." He flipped her off, not taking his eyes of the portal and she grinned, giving him a push that sent him tumbling into the light.

 **1430**

It was warm, the light growing stronger for all of a minute, feeling like a hug that slipped away all too quickly. George had lived for these moments. The glimpse of the other side, the call of the end. For the longest time she'd wanted to follow in Betty's footsteps and just jump through, especially after her sister...

She shook her head. The thoughts coming loose and flying away as she heard Harry call her from behind.

Turning she saw them waiting. Harry's cheeks where flushed and he had a grin on his face that she doubted any one could peel off. In one hand he had a corndog and the other a churro. He offered it to her as she got close.

"You like these one's right?" She took it, a reluctant seeming smile pulling at her mouth.

"Yeah." he beamed.

"Great. Did you get who you were after?" It didn't surprise her in the least that he knew. He always knew.

"Yep." She popped the 'P'. "You know he didn't go the way I thought he would. I thought for sure it would have been the darts."

The sky snickered as in the distance a dart broke through the board and hit the clown's stand, freeing a balloon from its string. There was shouting from the attendant and the clowns as they argued that they were trying to get them killed. George snickered at the late event as she linked her arm with Harry's and dragged him over to a game that used fishing poles and rubber ducks.

This might not have been the family she was born with, and no one could ever replace her sister as the one she loved most. But she'd long since learned in this unlife that family could be anyone you made it.

Georgia Lass had a younger sister named Reggie, an older sister named Betty and a new younger brother named Harry.

Death could never truly take them away from her. She'd take care of Harry for as long as she was able. She'd go on poking the souls of his enemies out of their bodies and guiding him through the new life he was building himself as best she could and when she finally passed on she'd see them all again in the afterlife.

It was okay.

It was all okay.

* * *

On the roof of the grade school's gymnasium, a lone gunman sat dumbstruck at what he'd seen unfold in the fairgrounds below. His partner had been taken out by vomit and a chair... what?

His eyes followed the older dishwater blonde woman who honestly looked like a drifter as she walked to the target's side and accepted a churro from him like nothing had happened... but he'd seen it. Oh had he seen it. He lined up the shot, all too ready just to fire, to take out the woman who had clearly been following his partner, who'd seeming taken him out before he could even get the target to their seat on the Ferris Wheel. He steadied himself on the lip of the roof and took aim... -

...only for a bright green balloon to float across his vision.

Cursing he waited for it to pass and went to take aim once more, finding his target quickly in the crowd, noticing at the last second that the dark haired woman on the Target's other side was looking ... right... at ... him...

"Fuck!" He dropped his weapon. Scrambling to his feet and high tailing it out of there. Taking pot shots on the blonde was one thing. Being noticed by Rubi Malone was something else entirely.

But hell if the rest of the Mafia didn't know by morning.

Do not under any circumstances touch the Rain!

* * *

A/N: XD

* * *

Don't forget to review!

Cya!


	3. Male Bonding

Disclaimer: The Characters in this fanfiction and the worlds in which they exist don't belong to me and no profit is made from this work. I'm just having fun playing in their sandbox. :P

* * *

A Harry Potter / KHR / WET / American Gods / Assassin's creed / FF15 / Venture Bros. / Dead Like Me Multi-Crossover

* * *

What Happens on the Road Trip...

by Mage-Alia

Male bonding

* * *

Plenty of things happened on the road trip. Accidents, incidents and chaos.

Here's a look at what happens when the responsible ones got out and leave the boys to their own devices... A little bit more about Shadow and Hank. XD

* * *

It was a warm evening.

Arizona had a lot of dry empty desert and the town where they'd stopped for the night was just more of the same.

Citing the need for a drink, Rubi had ventured to the nearest bar. She'd been joined by Laura and George, the former of which had desired to get out of the vicinity of the car which she likened to a coffin or a sardine can given how many people were packed into it these days.

Although that did mean that the male contingent had been left to their own devices.

Desmond had finally been deemed proficient enough to stay as Harry's body guard in Rubi's place. He'd felt pretty good about that, so it figured that they'd immediately find ways to get in trouble.

Well, for a given measure of trouble.

The moment he'd realized it was a boy's night in Hank had given in to his childish impulses and declared it a slumber party. Shadow had nope'd out of that pretty quick, retreating to the other side of the room with a book as Hank had cracked out a bag of potato chips and a deck of cards. Three rounds of Losing poker hands later Harry had switched it for a deck of exploding snap. And while primarily activated by magic, they quickly figured out how to substitute flames to activate the firecracker effect .

Shadow had joined back in when he'd seen them, fascinated by the magic.

They'd played, laughing and shouting until the hotel staff came knocking two hours later and demanded they keep it down. That had killed the mood pretty effectively for nearly twenty minutes while they sat sprawled across their room. They'd made a token attempt to find a movie on the TV before Desmond's rapidly bouncing leg had stopped.

"Heeyyy ... Harry ... " He drawled deliberately.

"Yeesss Desmond?"

"Do you want to spar? "

Harry stilled.

Across the room shadow locked up, interested, And Hank turned to them wide eyed.

"Sparring?" Harry queried and his cloud shrugged. His leg resumed it's bounce.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm bored, and way to wired up to be watching movies. So, you know, spar with me."

It had been a while. Harry considered the offer. None of them were lacking in fighting experience, one of the most effective ways to experiment with their powers had been combat. That said, Hank hadn't exactly sat in on any of their sparing matches yet either. But his sense of childish excitement had him perking up with interest none the less.

Harry managed to resist the offer for all of a minute before he relented.

He was bored too.

"Alright, we can find a place out back, but we gotta text Rubi first or she'll freak out."

"Done!"

Desmond was already putting his phone away and grabbed his leather roll from the bedside table. Harry just rolled his eyes and got to his feet while Shadow shrugged on a jacket. Hank took a little longer. He usually wore this my is ridiculous onesie he'd found in a walmart bargain bin that reminded him of his brother as pajamas and had been wearing them since he'd declared the whole slumber party part.

He was still hitching up his pants when they locked up and left.

Shadows application of mist had curious eyes looking away as effectively as any notice me not and they found an empty park not far away. Desmond, almost bouncing with glee, vanished between one step and the next and left the remaining three staring at the still park.

Harry sighed. It was going to be one of those fights.

"Hey! where'd he go?" Hank was on guard immediately as Harry shook out his arms and legs, cocked his head to the side and listened for the tells of his cloud's presence. Shadow gave his own gravely laugh. With his hands in his pockets you'd never guess that he was just as wary.

"Desmond has been trained as an Assassin." be informed the Lightning. "While Rubi is a much more traditional example of a self taught mercenary Desmond has some rare traits that let him experience his past lives or possibly those of his blood relatives. Either way, he can take what he see's in those dreams and apply them to reality... with some practice."

Abruptly Harry threw himself forward just in time to avoid a dark shape that took a flying leap off a nearby tree.

"Oh man, this is giving me flashbacks. " Hank breathed out, looking a little bit green and not because of his flames. He'd been assassinated once or twice. Not to mention he could remember Brock's strange assassin girlfriend trying to kill him in the guise of training (Never mind that he'd been crushing on the woman so hard he'd kept hurting himself trying to impress her.)

Shadow just chuckled as they watched the sparing match turn into a back and forward game of keep away.

"They're a bit of a bad match." Shadow admitted. "Des tends to stay at range, parrying and countering when confronted and works better with the element of surprise. He's more precise and agile than strong and his style is very much fight so you can run away."

And their assassin did just that breaking line of sight on his opponent and vanishing again.

"What about Harry? " The blonde drifter turned his attention to the leader of their ragtag group, and Shadow 'hurm'ed.

"He's an interesting one." The bigger man rocked on his needs a little. The green eyed veteran was a strange one, and still a bit of a mystery. He had his magic, even if he didn't use it anymore except through pre-enchanted items like his playing cards.

"He used to be a long range fighter, but he can't use those skills right now, as far as I know he's been learning hand to hand from Rubi and Des to make up for it. Plus, he cheats to keep track of Des. Although, Des cheats too. If you're not cheating you're not trying."

Harry could feed any of them nearby. It was something he'd picked up early on. An instinctual sense of their flames. Shadow himself, had noticed him using it and quietly prodded him into training it. Harry hadn't wanted to use it, he'd thought it was magic and part of him feared being tracked by the wizards even after all this time. He kept his flames leashed as tight as his magic, but the sheer strength couldn't be hidden, not entirely, and he was glad for it. Shadow had been on an endless march since the end of the war. Aimless, adrift, carried on by the faith of other gods and Laura, an iteration of something... new. Even among the new gods of America.

But running across Harry, Rubi and Desmond had left him with the feeling there could be more. He'd rubbed the silver coin in his pocket, the little silver namesake whispering to him in the voice of a girl. (He'd never regret giving Laura the sun. He'd always preferred the more patient, non-judgemental company of the moon anyway.) She'd murmured of peace, kindness and death, of turmoil and purpose. And he'd investigated. Discovered the flames, the watchers and when you believed it hard enough, even the most outlandish dreams could come true.

strong em (A dream of falling snow becomes a misty glimmer of indigo flame.) /strong /em

And in spite of Laura's fears he'd taken the plunge, getting to know the little god that shone with orange light...

-Beside him Hank gave a short scream as Desmond landed on an illusion of Shadow that he'd replaced himself with a while ago.

The assassin came crashing to the dirt and cursed as he recovered.

"Try it again Kid." He laughed from by the playground equipment while Hank gasped for breath, still more than a little surprised. The blonde did start to move toward the clone on the other side of the lawn but an invisible hand stopped him in his tracks as suddenly the clear area wasn't clear anymore. People, or the shades of people meandered around them as the dark playground became a day time bazaar. People picked out of their minds, random faces and a few strangers in bumblebee costumes with numbers pinned to their chests started going around in a familiar kind of scene that made Hank laugh and feel the tiniest bit homesick at the same time.

"Come on."

Shadow's heavy hand felt a lot like Brock's as he steered him into the illusory mass of humanity.

"Lets go see what you're good at."

* * *

The key scratched in the lock and the girls fell into the room.

They did have rooms of their own, but they were looking for the boys who'd left them an unusual string of texts over the last three hours. Eventually they'd given up on the idea of relaxing when the last two had been "Oh god oh god what's happening?!" followed by "Oh, we're fine now, see you when you get back."

So when they went to unlock Harry's room they weren't expecting anything to be okay. (Things Liked to go sideways where their Boss was concerned.)

But instead they found Harry, Desmond and Shadow playing 'Go fish' while Hank was hogtied on the bed.

Harry was the first to react, immediately waving to them.

"Oh hey, wanna join the game?" he asked, completely unconcerned, but Rubi just held up her phone.

"Explain. " The boys looked at each other then sagged under the combined stares of the girls.

Harry just sighed .

"Turn's out Hank's soul is a little bit loose." he admitted.

George turned a gimlet eye of her own on the hogtied man.

"What? Does it wiggle in its socket or something?" her eyebrows rose when Harry wiggled his hand back in a "kinda" gesture.

"So what happened?" She asked as Laura went to prod him.

"Well me and Harry were sparing."Desmond admitted, he'd sent the first text after all. "And when Shadow joined in he called up all these bystanders for us to practice with." Rubi nodded along. It was pretty normal for them. Even if it was just illusions it helped with many of their more lethal skills and Shadow needed the practice.

"l used some shades from Hank." the older man shrugged out of his involvement.

"And then what?"

The three looked at each other.

"Then Hank absorbed one."

The girls all turned to look at Hank who struggled at the attention.

"He managed to make contact with a red haired woman with an eye patch that got sucked into his hand before he started hitting himself screaming 'Niet Hank! Niet!' over and over."

Now they were all staring at Hank, who muttered a few more filthy words in Russian around his gag.

George finally rolled her eyes and marched over. Her blue fire rising as she wrapped it around one hand, grabbed Hanks face and pulled. A ghost of the guardian was yanked half way out looking startled before her other hand poked the body in the forehead causing a second shade to pop loose. Even as Hank was dropped unceremoniously back into his body the others all turned their attention to the second spirit.

It was a thin red haired woman with a red and black cat suit that was open in the front and a heart shaped parch over one eye. Her mouth was still spitting expletives even as her form broke apart and vanished.

"Ohh kaay."

Rubi drawled uncrossing her arms and looking away from the spectacle as George went on to untie the Lightning guardian. "How much did I drink ? "

"Not enough. "Laura responded. Her hands already going for her cigarettes as Rubi went to raid the mini-fridge.

Behind them, now mostly forgotten behind the bed. Hank stared up at the ceiling and giggled perversely to himself.

"Hehee. Boobies."

He was still a little boy at heart.

* * *

A/N: XD

After being killed so many times and technically being reloaded into his body Hank has a very... tenuous grip on his life at best. Sometimes if he comes across a strong enough spirit or impression, he can absorb it and start acting like them. basically a possession. Which, as far as the Venture bros. cannon went, is actually cannon. So as far as a supernatural skill goes, it's appropriate. At the end there George Shows off the ability I've had in mind for her since the beginning. Since her cannon ability is to bump souls out of their bodies to spare them the pain of dying, exposure to Harry and the properties of her rain flames has given her a much better control, to the point where she can choose to pop out souls of the people who's time isn't up and sometimes even put them back in. It doubles down on the "Don't touch the rain" warning. XD

Don't forget to review!

Cya


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